Star Trek and Shakespeare, Part I.

The play's the thing, whether on the stage of the Globe Theatre in sixteenth-century London or aboard a twenty-third-century starship. In The Original Series episode "The Conscience of the King," Captain Kirk and his crew play host to a troupe of Shakespearean actors hiding a terrible secret. But the Karidian Company of Players offer only the first of many interpretations of the Bard's plays within the Complete Works of Trek.

In the first act of a two-part episode of Primitive Culture devoted to the Man from Stratford, hosts Duncan Barrett and Tony Black look at the original Enterprise crew's brushes with Shakespeare, from echoes of The Tempest in the rejected pilot episode "The Cage" all the way through to the wild rantings of General Chang in The Undiscovered Country, 26 years later.

Shrinking Sci-Fi and DS9’s “One Little Ship.” We look at some examples of shrinking in Star Trek, comparing the franchise’s tiny people to those in science fiction cinema, such as The Incredible Shrinking Man and Fantastic Voyage.

Federation Politics in Star Trek. We’re joined by Keith DeCandido, author of Articles of the Federation, for a look at Star Trek’s political structures, the Federation Council, and its three on-screen presidents.

Star Trek and Fan Fiction. We consider Star Trek's role in the cultural phenomenon of fanfic, charting its development from the 'slash' stories of the 1970s through to the vast online archives of the twenty-first century.

Anne Frank and Counterpoint. We look at the influence of The Diary of Anne Frank on Star Trek’s screenwriters, considering how science fiction handles fascist and authoritarian regimes and the role played by ordinary people in resisting oppression.

Michael Piller, Joseph Conrad, and Star Trek: Insurrection. We look at some of the inspirations behind the script of the third TNG film, including Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness and discuss Piller’s book Fade In.

The British Isles in Star Trek. We discuss the portrayal of our homelands over a few synthales at the Grosvenor Hotel in London, and examine real-world independence movements and the effects of transporters on national identity.

Cinematic Influences on Star Trek: First Contact. We discuss the influence of Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, and James Cameron on Jonathan Frakes and how their films inspired his big-screen directorial debut.

Star Trek's Impossible Choices. We consider the influence of Sophie's Choice on Star Trek's storytelling and the dilemmas Starfleet captains are forced to face that the rest of us might consider impossible.

Voyager, History, and Nostalgia. We explore the show’s obsession with the past, debates around historical truth, the pleasures of nostalgia, and whether the homeward mission was inherently retrogressive.